Testing Gladstone Go Before Go-Live

Problem

Before going live with Gladstone Go, you need to set up a test environment, test Go Book, Go Join, emails and payments end to end, get sign-off, and monitor the first weeks of live use.

Resolution

Build and set up the test

1. Follow the build order

   • Create subscriptions and price products (Plus2) and set their price level and status (GMC).
   • Complete the Operator settings (see Gladstone Go Operator Configuration Overview).
   • Create tag groups and map memberships (see Setting Up Go Join Tag Groups and Mapping Memberships).
   • Finalise templates and communication jobs, keeping jobs in test (see Gladstone Go and 360 Email Templates).
   • Configure payment (Gladstone Pay) and address/bank validation.
   • Ask Gladstone for a live-to-test copy and test end to end.
   • The full order is in Go Configuration Build Order Across Products.

2. Prepare the test environment

   • Use the test Go Book and Go Join links (the URL contains "test"). Ask Gladstone for a live-to-test copy after config is finished. Later live changes need another copy; changes in live do not flow to test automatically.
   • Emails are often switched off in test after a live-to-test copy, so real customers are not emailed from test data. Ask Gladstone Support to enable them for testing. Until then, password-reset and welcome emails will not arrive. Always assume a test email may be delivered.
   • Use your own email address for test customers. It is stored as the Home email and becomes the login. Never invent addresses: emails can be sent from test and a made-up address may belong to someone real.
   • Switch off address and bank validation (GB Group/Loqate) in test Operator settings if copied from live; otherwise joining can fail or use credits.

3. Get a test card

   • Use a test card on the test environment (ask Gladstone). Its expiry must use month 12 with a future year.
   • A mock "authorise" step appears that customers will not see; choose authorised for a successful payment.
   • Test-card payments fail above about £49, so test DD memberships whose first (pro-rata) payment is under that. Otherwise make a real low-value purchase on live and refund it in GladstonePay. Never use test card details on live.

What to test

1. Test Go Book

   • Find a class, check availability and when the next session opens, try booking while logged out (you are prompted to log in or create an account), and join a waiting list if enabled.

2. Test Go Join for each member type and duration

   • Buttons and descriptions read correctly.
   • The membership appears for the right path (see Troubleshooting: Subscription Not Showing on Gladstone Go if not).
   • Extra questions (user fields) appear on the right memberships.
   • T&Cs are mandatory and marketing opt-in is optional.
   • The pro-rata, recurring and contract-total breakdown is correct.
   • Payment completes and the DD guarantee and mandate appear.

3. Test emails, the exit pop-up and the account page

   • Emails: welcome (with password link), purchased membership, DD mandate, booking confirmation, class (waiting-list) alert and linked member invitation.
   • Exit pop-up wording and delay when leaving the join flow idle.
   • Account page: set a password, log in, book with the membership, and see bookings, basket and class alerts.

4. Check the records in Plus2/360

   • Check the resulting price level, status, subscription and correspondence.

5. Run the full end-to-end scenarios

   • A new customer joins and pays successfully.
   • An existing customer buys another membership from their account.
   • Duplicate detection: join as yourself, then try again with the same email and date of birth; Go should say an account seems to exist and offer to log in.
   • Password reset where several accounts share one email, including two people with the same name.
   • A promotion code on Go Join, and the same discount in 360.
   • RCP succeeds and entitlement continues; RCP fails, a debt is raised and access is restricted as intended; the customer clears the debt and access is restored (see Testing Recurring Card Payments).
   • A DD rejection file runs through the configured wizard and sends the right email (and SMS if used).
   • A full class accepts an alert-list entry, and a cancellation triggers the alert email only to people on that list.
   • An alert-list place that clashes with an existing booking (check the existing booking is not removed).
   • Overlapping bookings are blocked (exact-time and partial overlaps).
   • Daily and activity-specific booking limits work, including across primary and linked accounts.
   • A parent/guardian becomes primary payee for a junior.
   • A shared (group) membership enforces its link limit.
   • Book for others.
   • A party booking at several price levels.
   • A block booking is created, edited and cancelled; its invoice is approved, issued and paid by Pay by Link and at the 360 POS.
   • Privacy, terms, support, logo, social, call-to-action and deep links work.
   • Emails render correctly on desktop and mobile.

Pre go-live housekeeping

1. Check departments and prices
   • Set the correct department and cost centre on every price product (resource "Z" products do not matter), so reporting and the finance extract are right from day one.
   • Check each price product's prices and which price levels can buy it.
   • Let reception and back office settle into payments for a couple of weeks before opening online class booking, and give members notice of the change.

Go-live approval and early monitoring

1. Get sign-off

   • Record test evidence and any unresolved defects.
   • Get sign-off from the owners of operations, payments, memberships, customer communications and data protection.

2. Go live

   • Switch approved communication jobs and customer journeys from test to live.

3. Monitor the first weeks

   • Watch the first payment run, first rejection file, first alert-list emails and first online joins, and reconcile transactions, memberships, debts, bookings and messages.
   • Keep a manual fallback process available while things settle.

   Frequency	Check
   Daily	Failed RCP transactions, new debts, failed communication jobs
   Each payment batch	Submission, receipt, exceptions and notification delivery
   Each rejection file	Processed records match the file; follow-up queue
   Weekly	Alert-list performance, booking conflicts, duplicate records, support issues
   Monthly	Subscription state, entitlement, payment, debt and course enrolment
   After any configuration change	Repeat the affected end-to-end tests

Notes

• Address lookup (GB Group) validates postcodes and can validate phone numbers. It is not normally used in test because lookups cost credits.
• Training recordings saved to Gladstone Drive are usually deleted after about two weeks, so download any you want to keep.
• Common problems found in testing:
  • Typos in activity descriptions (for example, "Group exercise class" vs "classes") create separate groups on Go Book. Keep descriptions identical.
  • Hyperlinks in tag descriptions only work in the Facilities tag group, not member types or durations. An enhancement request can be raised.
  • The operator trading name placeholder may not fill in on the DD confirmation email. Type the name in directly, and check punctuation in the DD guarantee text.
  • Use a typed signature block (site name, email, phone) rather than placeholders, so details are always right.
  • Booking buttons that look too similar (available vs unavailable) can be improved by Gladstone adjusting the theme's button palette.
  • Help email/phone for Go Book and Go Join swapped: check both sets on the test site.
  • Membership not showing: missing Purchase via web or site tick, missing GMC price level/status, duplicate tag path, or cache.
  • "Unable to add member": too many price levels ticked on the price product.
  • Emails not arriving: emails disabled in test, or no business rule or communication job for the template.
  • Report screenshots of system errors to Gladstone support.
• Suggestions for product changes go through the product enhancement request form, with screenshots. It goes straight to the product team.
• Coming features: a Renew button for fixed-term memberships (annual, six-month), starting the new term when the current one ends; online cancellation of paid bookings and memberships; SMS and push notifications; access-control passes for guests a member has booked in (digital pass).
• Moving existing members onto new subscriptions and price levels is covered in Moving Existing Members to a New Price Structure.
• Related: Setting Up Go Join Tag Groups and Mapping Memberships; Gladstone Go and 360 Email Templates; Gladstone Go Operator Configuration Overview; Troubleshooting: Subscription Not Showing on Gladstone Go; Recurring Card Payments (RCP).

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